HOUSE prices in England have suffered their first annual slump since late 2012.
The average £255,683 was 0.7 per cent less than last year — dragged down by the plunging London market.
Values in the capital fell 3.8 per cent from the first three months of 2018 to the first three of 2019 — their poorest showing for a decade.
It made London the worst performing region.
Prices there have now slumped for seven quarters in a row.
Yet they rose elsewhere — up 2.5 per cent in the West Midlands, 2.6 per cent in the East Midlands and 2.9 per cent in the North West, Nationwide Building Society said.
Chief economist Robert Gardner blamed London’s slump on previous boom years and tax hikes on buy-to-let homes.
He said: “Several years of out- performance has left affordability stretched. Policy changes in the buy-to-let market are also likely to have more of a drag in London.
“Private rentals form a larger proportion of housing there than elsewhere.”
Across the UK, Northern Ireland had the biggest rise, up 3.3 per cent, said Nationwide. Scotland saw 2.4 per cent growth and Wales 0.9 per cent.
